Train-pipe coupler



Bw-23, 1930. E. o. HERMANN 1,786,066

TRAIN PIPE coUPLER ,Filed Sept.' l2, 1928 A2 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEYS.

Dec. 23, 1930.

5.o. HERMANN TRAIN PIPE COUPLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F'iled Sept. l2, 1928 i IINVENTOR. BY I' Ill TTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 23, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT n FFECE EDWARD O. HERMANN, OF IviIIIL VALLEY, CALFORNIA,IASSIGNOR TO COBB CONNECTOR COMPANY, OF LOS-ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF ARIZONA TRAIN-PEPE CUPLER Application led September 12, 1928. Serial No. '$05,461.

My present invention relates to means for connecting the air and steam pipes of adjacent railway cars and particularly to a coupier head wherein pneumatic pressure is operative to maintain the heads in sealed engagement.

In a prior patent to John L. Cobb, Number 1,173,997, dated February 29, 1916, and assigned to the assignee of this application, there is disclosed a coupler of the type con* templated by my invention and it is an object of my present invention to provide a coupler head having certain features or"- improvement over the coupler head disclosed in this patent.

Another object of my invention is to pro-V vide means whereby the pneumatic pressure within the train pipe line may be utilized to securely hold the cooperating couplers together and seal the joint when the same are in operation.

A further object of my invention is to pro-l vide a coupler head having means in cooperation with the pressure responsive features which will become operative to prevent dam age thereto, should the coupler head become uncoupled while the train brake pipe line is energized.

Another object of my invention Vis to provide means whereby my coupler head may be readily opened up so as to facilitate inspection and repair of the normal wearing parts.

Other objects and advantageswill appear as the description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, proceeds.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference should be had to the accompanying` drawings, wherein I have shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of my invention. It is to be understood that Vin adapting the same to meet the many conditions that may arise, various changes in the'V shape, form, proportionmand minor taiis of construction may be' resorted'to without departing from the spirit of my invention. In they drawings- Figure l is a plan view of two cooperating coupler heads taken in section along the horizontal center line thereof,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of one of the coupler headsshown in Figure l,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the other coupler head shown in Figure l with the hinged guide' member removed therefrom,

Figure 4 is a front end View of the coupler head shown in Figure 2,

Figure 5 is aview similar to Figure 4 taken in section aiong the center line of the ports at V-V, and l Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line VIMVI of Figure 2. Y

In brief, my improved coupler contemplates a pair of duplicate c-ouplerheads, each .Y provided with a tongue member having ports in the engaging faces thereof; a hinged guide member having flared ends for guiding the cooperating tongues into engagement; a wear piateI operating to take the normal wear while in use and hold the ports out of engage ment until they are aligned; and an improved means responsive to pneumatic pressure kadapted to cooperate with the hing-ed member and force the coupler ports into sealed engagement'when the heads are fully coupled. For an understanding of the details of construction of my invention, reference should be had to the figures of the drawings wherein like numeralsdesignate like parts.v

In'Figure l, 10 designates the tongue porn tion of my improved coupler and ll designates the hinged guide member. This guide member l1 Yis hinged to the rear portion of the coupler head at .the point l12 and carries a suitable iatching element'l which is Vadapted to'enga'ge recesses formed upon the coupler head and function to retain the guide mem ber llV rigid with respect to the head when latched. From thisfigure 'of the drawings,

it will be seenthat the guide member '11 forms in conjunction with the coupler tongue l0 a receptacle or throat into which the other tongue 10 will project whenjthe. couplers are in operation.v The tongues 10 are divided up vertically into a plurality of independent chambers and ports are arranged in the engaging acesof the tongues l() in communicationwith these chambers so that when the coupler heads are engageda communication between thecorresponding chambers of the co-operating coupler heads will be effected. At the rear of the coupler head and also communicating with the above referred to chambers, there are provided suitable inlet-s to which the train pipe lines may be connected for the purpose of establishing a connection between the adjacent cars, as is well understood. The ports in the engaging` faces of the tongues are each provided with suitable compressible gaskets and immediately in advance of these gaskets there is formed a raised or wearing surface 14 upon the face of the tongue. These raised or wearing surfaces project inwardly from the ends of the tongues 10 and terminate at a point approximately in line with the centers of the above referred to ports so that as the coupler tongues are brought into engagement, the ports with their compressible gaskets will be held out of Contact with the adjacent coupler heads and thus protected against displacement.

ln the back wall of the chamber immediately behind the central or train brake pipe chamber of the coupler head7 there is formed a compartment 15 which communicates by means of a small port 16 with the interior of the aforesaid chamber and arranged in the chamber 15 there is provided a flexible diaphragm 17 which is preferably of an impregnated fabric or other non-metallic material. This diaphragm 17 is adapted to flex within the compartment 15 under the influence of fluid pressure exerted thereupon through the opening 16 when the coupler heads are in operation and also cooperates with a suitable plunger or piston 18 to force the aligned ports with their compressible gaskets into sealed en gagelnent when the coupler heads are properly connected and energized. rEhe piston 18 is circular in cross section and its inner end slides freely through a member 19 which forms the securing means for the diaphragm 17 of the compartment 15. rlhe outer end of the piston 18 is adapted to slide freely through a removable plate E20 which is secured to the back face of the coupler. This plate 2O is of rectangular shape and is eountersunk so that a smooth surface will be presented at the back of the coupler and it carries on its inner surface a leaf spring member 21 which projects diametrically through an opening 22 formed in the piston 18. The leaf spring :21 is secured to the member 20 at one end and contacts at its other end in sliding engagement so that it may yield and permit the piston 18 to move outwardly and engage the adjacent surface 28 of the guide member 11 and thus in cooperation therewith force the coupler heads together when the diaphragm 17 is flexed due to the existence of pneumatic pressure within the coupler head train brake pipe chamber.

In order that the aligned ports will be brought into suiiiciently close contact to per-V mit the establishment of an initial pressure behind the diaphragms 17 I provide in the end ofthe throat formed by the tongue 10 and guide 11 a spring 2st which is mounted upon the latter and is of such shape that it will engage the extreme end of the tongue and urge it with its ports toward the ports of the adjacent or cooperating coupler head.

ln Figure 9 the position of the plunger 18 upon the bac 'a' face of the coupler head is ery clearly shownVl as is also the shape and irrangeuient of the retaining plate 20. This iigure also shows the position of the leaf spring Q1 and the plunger guide 19 as having semi-ci lcular openings 25 which prevent a building up of pressure ou this side of thc diaphragm which might act to prevent a flexing the diaphragm7 a previourisly suggested. The e;\:teinal vertical outlet of the coupler is also very well shown in this view and particularly the location of supporting bosses 26 by means of which the coupler head is at iched to its supporting gear and also the degree of i'iaring at the ends 27 of the guide member 11. view of the drawings ln tl be, tl'icre is also sl )wn a connection inlet 28 which enters the upper er signal air chamber of the coupler head and a second connection inlet 2S) which communicates with the train brake pipe chamber of the coupler head. Below those connection inlets 28 and 2f) there is provided a downward projection on the coupler head which terminates in a third connection inlet 30 to which the train steam line may be connected.

j v referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that this arrangement of the connection inlet 30 below the body of the coupler head is necessitated by reason of the hinge providingbosses 31 to which the hinge arm l1 is attached. r1`his view of the drawings also shows a pair of overhanging arms and 2l?) which cooperate with the latch 13 to maintain the hinge guide 11 in its operative position. rThese members and 83 are provided respectively with undercut notches Se and 3:7 into which the ends of the latch 13 project when the latter is in its operative position. rl`he connecting` ports of the coupler head are shown here as arranged vertically in alignment and are designated by the numerals 3G. 37, and 38, 86 being the smallest and arranged within the train pipe signal air line; the port S7 being arranged in the train brake pipe line; and the port 88 being arranged inthe train steam pipe line. This view of the drawing also very clearly shows the shaj'ie and disposition of the lneviously referre'il to raised or wearing surface 1li. upon the face of the tongue 10. This surface is here shown as being cut away around the ports 3o, and 38 and projecting therebetween to a point where it terminates gradually. substantially in alignment with the vertical center line of the ports. By tapering the wearing surfaces of each of the coupler faces in this manner,

itwill be seen that after t-hey have passed over each other, the tivo tapered surfaces Will slide down upon each other and permit the gasket-s arranged in the ports to come into contact With each other. The gaskets are illustrated in Figures 1 and 5 and at this point it might be said that they are of such dimensions that they Will project slightly above the surface of the ports so that when the Wearing surfaces 14 of the cooperating coupler heads slide over each other, the gaskets will be. brought under compression and thus effect a tight seal therebetween.

In Figure 4, the supporting bosses 26 are shown as mounted upon spaced parallel Webs 39 and the flared ends 27 of the hinged arm 11 are shown as projecting inwardly toward the tongue 10 so as to engage the approaching tongue 1G and guide it into its proper position adjacent the cooperating tongue.

In Figure 5, the latch 13 is shown in its guide securing position and interlocking with the projecting arms 32 and 33, as previously described. This latch 13 is mounted centrally and pivotally upon the hinge member 11 by means of a suitable stud 40 and is provided with an operating lever 41 which operates in conjunction With a set screw 42 carried thereby to maintain the latch 13 in its guidelatching position, the set screwr 42 being positively engaged in the end of the arm 32. This figure also-shows in section the port-s 36,737, and 33 and their arrangementrwith respect to the signal air, train pipe air, and steam chambers of the coupler head. The port 16 which connects the train pipe air line with the chamber 15 is also very clearly shown in this view, as is also the manner of mounting and retaining the plunger 18 in position.

In connection With the showing of Figure 6, it is thought that no further explanation is in each of said heads opposite said ports and,

communicating with the interior thereof, a nonemetallic diaphragmV arranged in said chamber and exposed on one side to fluid pressure when said heads are coupled, and aV plunger movably mounted adjacent said diaphragm and actuated thereby, said plunger engaging a part of the cooperating coupler head to press said heads with their aligned ports into sealed engagement.

2. in a train pipe coupler, the combination of a pair of cooperating couplers comprising interlocking heads having ports in their engaging faces adapted to align When the couplers are in operation, a chamber formed in each of said heads opposite said ports and communicating with the interior thereof, a diaphragm arranged in said chamber and exposed on one side to fluid pressure When said heads are coupled, a member movably mounted adjacent said diaphragm adapted to engage a part of the cooperating coupler head and press said heads With their aligned ports into sealedengagement, and a spring cooperating With said member for holding it in engagement With said diaphragm.

3. A port sealing mechanism for train pipe couplers comprising a chamber formed in the back of each of the coupler heads communieating with the interior thereof, a non-me tallic vdiaphragm arranged Within said chain ber exposed on one side to the fluid pressure Within the head, and a movable member projecting into said chamber adapted to be forced outwardly when pressure is exerted upon said diaphragm and cooperate with an interlocking part of said cooperating head to hold the ports in sealed engagement.

4. A port sealing mechanism for train pipe couplers comprising a chamber formed in the back of eachv of the coupler heads communicating With the interior thereof, a diaphragm arranged within said chamber exposed on one side to the fluid pressure Within the head, a movable member projecting into said chamber adapted to be forced outwardly When pressure is exerted upon said diaphragm and cooperate With an interlocking part of said cooperating head to hold the ports in sealed engagement, said member having an opening extending therethrough intermediate its ends, and a leafspring extending through said opening adapted to hold With said diaphragm.

5. In a train pipe coupler, the combination of a pair of cooperating coupler heads having ports in the sides thereof adapted to slideinto engagement with each other, a hinged member adapted to guide said coupler ports into engagement when operative and to be released to permit repair and inspection of said ports, a plunger adapted to be moved by fluid pressure into engagement- Witlisaid hinged member and force said ports into sealed engagement when said couplers are energized, and means projecting through said plunger adapted to retain it in an operative position and prevent excessive dis. placement thereof should said hinged meinber be released'while said coupler heads areenergized.

EDWARD o. HERMANN.

said member in Voperative engagement iso 

